Eustis Goes All-out For Washington's Birthday Bash

The Celebration's 100th Anniversary Features Five Days Of Entertainment And, Of Course, The Parade.

February 20, 2002|By Sara Sheckler, Sentinel Correspondent

EUSTIS -- What better way to honor the father of the country than to have a few heroes present at a Washington's Birthday festival?

The 100th anniversary of the celebration hosted by the city of Eustis to fete George Washington will feature a parade led by members of the New York City Police and Fire departments and the U.S. military who were part of rescue efforts in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11.

"Washington's birthday represents patriotism, so we wanted to include some heroes when we celebrated," said Sharron Semento, executive director of the Eustis Chamber of Commerce.

She called the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce in late September to seek guests for the festival.

About 75 telephone calls later, Semento had lined up Stephen Cassidy, a 14-year member of the New York City Fire Department, Christopher Sparacia, a seven-year member of the New York City Police Department, and Staff Sgt. Daniel E. Nelson of the U.S. Army, who led one of the first rescue teams at the Pentagon on Sept. 11.

The parade is scheduled for Saturday, but the free festival will begin at 5 p.m. today with a carnival in Ferran Park that will be nightly during the festival, which ends on Sunday.

Tonight and Thursday nights will be bracelet nights at the carnival. Patrons can buy a bracelet for $12 that will allow them unlimited rides on a Ferris wheel and other rides. There will also be games, cotton candy, caramel apples and other carnival food.

Also tonight, the public is invited to the festival's Business After Hours at 5:30 p.m. at Mack's Wine Bar Cafe in downtown Eustis.

Here's the lineup for the festival:

THURSDAY

5 p.m.: Carnival opens.

The Eustis Community Center will host the Best Pizza in Lake County contest at 5 p.m., and a baby-crawl contest at 6:30 p.m. Middle- and high-school students will compete for scholarships at 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

5 p.m.: Carnival opens.

6 p.m.: Doc Holiday will play country music in the Alice McClelland Memorial Bandshell in Ferran Park. Dusk: Lighting of the Liberty Tree. A tree in Ferran Park will be festooned with lanterns representing each state.

"This is an event we used to do that everyone loved, so we're bringing it back," said Charles Rudd, program manager of Eustis Main Street, one of the presenters of the festival.

During the lighting, winners of a patriotic essay contest at local schools will get ribbons and savings bonds.

7 p.m.: The Washington's Birthday cake, a door-size slab, will be cut and samples will be given to patrons.

SATURDAY9 a.m.: Carnival opens.

9:30 a.m.: The Dog Jog begins. 10 a.m.: The Lake Eustis Crafts Festival will have 40 booths filled with arts, crafts, plants and antiques for sale. This is a juried show with artists vying for prizes.

10 a.m.: The Grande Parade will start at Doane Avenue and Bay Street with about 100 units, featuring floats, marching bands, clowns, antique cars and members of the Apopka Little League, the national Little League champions.

"There might be as many as 2,000 people in the parade," Rudd said.

11 a.m.: The Front Street Jazz Band will perform in the band shell.

11 a.m.: Doug Paul will perform at the crafts festival.

Noon: Patrons can meet Cassidy, Sparacia and Nelson at the VIP tent.

12:30 p.m.: Cherry bake-off contest will be judged.

2 p.m.: Cherry pie-eating contest.

3 p.m.: Citrus squeeze contest.

4 p.m.: A Touch of Class plays in the band shell.

5 p.m. A disc jockey will spin tunes during the classic car cruise-in on Magnolia Avenue and Eustis Street.

Also, throughout the day the Golden Triangle YMCA will host a children's game area and Bassmasters will have a casting competition for children.

8 p.m.: Fireworks over Lake Eustis.

A popular event returning this year is the Citrus Squeeze, which consists of teams who devise unique ways to squeeze the most juice from oranges.

"One group last year sat on a toilet seat. It's fun to root for your team to win," Semento said.

The pie-eating contest is also a crowd-pleaser.

"Some kids are so nice and neat and some just cram it in," she said. "Winners get little pig trophies."

SUNDAY:9 a.m.: Carnival opens.

10 a.m.: Plantation Rhythm Cloggers, a tae kwon do demonstration and other performances will be in the band shell. 11 a.m.: Bob Rafkin will play jazz guitar at the crafts show.

Noon: The Caribbean Experience Band will perform reggae and island music in the band shell.

Also, a dog obedience class will give a demonstration.

Throughout the day, children can enjoy sand art and candle-making in Ferran Park.